As an interesting side note, I Googled myself the other day and your avatar was one of the pics that popped up. For someone I don't really talk to much on here, Google seems to think we talk a lot. Conspiracy, mebbe?

Subject: Re: Table top game using Bloodlines for setting Fri May 25, 2012 10:33 am

Voraxith wrote:

... ... Aww... You hurt me, Duncan. You really hurt me.

You'll heal. Just expend a little vitae.

Voraxith wrote:

As an interesting side note, I Googled myself the other day and your avatar was one of the pics that popped up. For someone I don't really talk to much on here, Google seems to think we talk a lot. Conspiracy, mebbe?

When you 'Google' yourself, keep my avatar out of it.

Sometimes I try to Google sci-fi or fantasy terms, and the only references are links to forums where they talk about games. What's worse, sometimes the only thing I can find is a link to myself, talking about the topic on some forum. This makes me feel sorry for other people who Google the same topic, if I am the best authority Google can find.

Oh, you mean aside from the fact that the Toreador has been a) tricked into thinking she diablerized someone by a Ravnos antitribu, and b) forced into the body of the Malkavian by a feisty and ill-tempered mage? Oh, okay.

Oh, so much fun tonight. They pretty much decimated the beach house, but it was one of the most hilariously one-sided fights ever. One Gangrel, a Malkavian, and a Toreador were all pretty much useless to the scene; but one lone Gangrel rose above the rest, took command, and DESTROYED those fools who hurt Mercurio. Epicosity ensued with Michael Bay-esque demolitions. Too bad they need the Astrolite for later...

Killing a player character is fine, as long as the player can see that the death is the result of his own actions or another player's action and not just your arbitrary decision.

Corrected. Other players can get you killed too.

[Player X] I cast Fireball.[Storyteller] You know Player Y is in the spell radius, right?[Player X] Yeah, but he's got fire resistance I think.[Storyteller] Okay. Rolls dice. A few people fall, including Player Y because he only had 10 hit points left.[Player Y] You jerk! My ring of fire resistance only stops 20% of the damage![Player X] Oops.

So, I'm thinking of killing one of the characters as a way to sort of remind them that actions do in fact have consequences: especially in the World of Darkness. Any thoughts on the matter?

As you just said, their actions have consequences. If they act or do something stupid, they should suffer from it. BUT from the way you're writing, it seems almost as if you're planning to kill one, no matter what happens. And that is BAD BAD BAD.

The reason most people like tabletop RPG is that the possibilities are limitless. You're not restricted to a certain pre-made plot or pre-made character. So if the players suddenly decided "hey, you know what? fuck the prince, we're going to the sabbat" there's nothing technically stopping them from doing so. Trying to use "force" as a way to keep them predictable, or to show off you got balls to kill one, destroys all the fun in the game. Remember, the storyteller plays with the player, not against them.

My thoughts? Sure, don't be afraid to kill a character if the situation calls for it. Doing a Deus EX machina to keep your player's characters alive is just as damaging to the fun as putting a fight or anything that no matter what your players do, how much they roll or how inteligently they fight, someone is going to die.

If you really want to kill someone, make more challenging enemies and a more dangerous game overall. Don't point to some guy and say "hey, you're dead, just to show you i can".

I typically run under a very strict rule for myself while running a game: the game is supposed to be fun. I let so much shit get by, most Storytellers would have a conniption fit. I absolutely hate killing player's characters unless they know they deserve it/want it for a specific reason. I've played too many games in which the game master just didn't give a fuck how much you loved your character or that you had literally just made it; you died, you died -- no excuses. I hate that! I like giving some wiggle room for the player to actually enjoy the game. However, that being said I will always stand by the idea that actions have consequences, and in a World of Darkness game, that is just the point. When I say I want to kill one of the characters, I simply mean allowing a situation to get entirely out of hand, and let the chips fall where they may. I just wanna see if they'll actually start playing characters that would conceivably exist in the WoD.